World's Greatest Leaders

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In business, government, philanthropy and the arts, and all over the globe, these men and women are transforming the world and inspiring others to do the same. Read more about our fourth annual list here.

Randall Stephenson

Chairman and CEO, AT&T

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CEO Randall Stephenson at the company’s Dallas headquarters.

Photograph by Brent Humphreys for Fortune

The head of one of the nation’s largest employers (and, with $163.8 billion in revenue last year, one of the world’s largest companies), Stephenson has taken on a challenge befitting AT&T’s stature: retraining more than 100,000 workers. In the face of rapid technological change, many CEOs have cut their people loose. But AT&T is launching a roughly billion-dollar push to teach them new skills through its sweeping 2020 initiative. The drive is already paying off: Last year AT&T filled more than 40% of open positions with internal candidates.